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Door to door seller

Also called home seller, doorstep seller, travelling salesman

Door to door sellers sell goods and services door to door.

Will there be jobs?Average prospects31 jobs to fill by 2035 for every 100 people doing this work today.Sales workersWhat does it pay?Below averageFrom about €800 (Bulgaria) to €4,500 (Ireland) a month, depending on the country.Estimate · Sales workersWhat do I need to study?Upper secondary or vocational6 in 10 finished upper secondary or vocational training. 3 in 10 train through vocational routes.Sales workersWill AI change it?ModeratelyLevel 4 of 6. AI could take on part of most tasks, but none fully.Door-to-door salespersons · ILO

What you'd do

Door-to-door salespersons · ILO
  • Giving details of various goods or services and of terms of sale by visiting clients and potential clients in private homes
  • Demonstrating or describing goods or services on offer
  • Recording orders and transactions and placing orders received with suppliers
  • Preparing invoices and sales contracts and accepting payment
  • Distributing letters, information sheets and other documents to clients
  • Compiling lists of prospective clients and calling on them to obtain new business
  • Travelling between sales areas and clients and transporting samples or goods for sale
Achieve sales targetsAssist customersGuarantee customer satisfactionIdentify customer's needsPrepare presentation material+ 11 more essential skills
What the work is like
  • A mix of sitting and standing
  • Lots of contact with people, including the public
  • Good freedom to decide
  • Usually under 40 hours a week
  • Deadlines now and then
  • Varied tasks, little repetition
US data: based on the O*NET profile of the US job "Door-to-Door Sales Workers, News and Street Vendors, and Related Workers"

Will there be jobs?

Average prospects

A typical number of jobs will need filling by 2035.

People working as sales workers in the EU
15.79m15.71m16.15m 201520232035

Solid: measured. Dashed: forecast.

Jobs to fill, 2026–2035
173,000 new jobs 4,772,000 replacing leavers
Jobs to fill per 100 people working now
Sales workers31
All jobs29
Right now
6 of 27 countries report a shortage of door-to-door salespersons, 3 a surplus.
Door-to-door salespersons · EURES

What does it pay?

Below average

Pay depends a lot on the country: from about €800 a month (Bulgaria) to €4,500 (Ireland), before tax.

Pick a country at the top of the page to see typical pay there, for people under 30, and compared with all jobs.

Among service and sales workers in the EU, women earn 3% less per hour than men. Service and sales workers · Eurostat

What do I need to study?

Upper secondary or vocational

Upper secondary or vocational training in wholesale and retail sales is the usual route.

Highest qualification of sales workers (EU, 2025)
Degree 16%Vocational 42%General secondary 19%Basic schooling 22%
Fields that teach it
Wholesale and retail sales · Marketing and advertising
Vocational route, EU
3 in 10 trainees in this field

Pick a country at the top of the page to see where to study and the official course finders.

Will AI change it?

Moderately

AI could take on part of most tasks, but none fully.

How exposed is this job? ILO scale
Very low
Low
Some tasks
Moderate
Significant
High

Average task score 0.46 on a scale from 0 (AI can't do it) to 1 (AI could do it fully).

See the score for each of the 7 tasks
Compiling lists of prospective clients and calling on them to obtain new business0.62
Preparing invoices and sales contracts and accepting payment0.58
Recording orders and transactions and placing orders received with suppliers0.58
Demonstrating or describing goods or services on offer0.55
Giving details of various goods or services and of terms of sale by visiting clients and potential clients in private homes0.47
Distributing letters, information sheets and other documents to clients0.25
Travelling between sales areas and clients and transporting samples or goods for sale0.15

Based on what AI could technically do when assessed in 2025. It is not a forecast for a future year, and not a forecast of job losses. Scores for door-to-door salespersons. Source: ILO (2025), adapted (credits).